BEDFORD - HOTEL BIRON

03.13.11

Comment by AB: Unusual media alert-- Mirang Wonne "paints" with a blow torch on stainless steel mesh. Also on the docket are amorphous forms by Jenn Shifflet and atmospheric landscapes by Kathryn St. Clair.

Review by Kathryn Arnold: A lovingly arranged exhibition of gallery artists. On one large wall is a maximum-sized painting containing multiple views of a single figure, like taking a Vermeer portrait into a 3D modeling program to gain access to profile and frontal views, and then dynamically creating a juxtaposition of each vantage point. Also notable are digital photographs of books, folded or rather unfolded into abstract shapes, sculptural in feeling, posed against a black backdrop. Patterns of ellipses and multiple other works are on view.

Gwen Manfrin's works, photographs and archival digital prints of gravestones and burial sites with cliché titles such as "Wish You Were Here" and "Front Row Seats," are inspired by the burial of her father, projections about other families and their loved ones, and the isolation of a cemetery in the East Bay. But these could be anywhere, universal.

Review by Meredith Winner: Paxton Gate is not your typical art gallery. It actually operates more as a store, featuring artwork and crafts made by local artists, along with books, toys and other novelty items-- an abundance of taxidermy animals, for instance. In a room at the front of the space, Shelley Monahan's monochromatic paintings source their imagery, mainly of children playing, from found vintage photographs. Reminiscent of the American past, their nostalgic quality feeds into the overall vintage feel of the store.

Review by Clare Coppel: Paintings by Shelley Monahan-- black, white and gray images of children at play, larger than life and somewhat eerie, lacking in context and quite strong.

Art by Shelley Monahan.

Shelley Monahan and her art (photo c/o Clare Coppel).

Art above by Shelley Monahan closer (photo c/o Meredith Winner).

Art by Shelley Monahan closer (photo c/o Clare Coppel).

Paxton Gate proper.

***

a.Muse Gallery: Change is the Only Constant - Panoramic Photographs by Seth Dickerman.

Comment by AB: Seth Dickerman tells me his camera automatically shoots the photographs and advances the film while he manually sweeps it from one end to the other of the landscapes that are to become his panoramas.

Review by RWM: Nice to gather with other John Muir fans to learn about his fascination with the botanical world. One can find all sorts of wonders in the natural world, some of which are presented here. Muir found theology in Nature and was inspired by its beauty. He also reveled in the wonders of it's minutiae, some which are on display; see the fruits of these observations. Muir's legacy has been a bulwark against a more sociological environmentalism, but if you like to walk outdoors, this man should still be thanked.